Further investigations into the relationship between depressive disorders and anxiety state

Abstract

Results of two investigations into the relationship between anxiety states and depressive disorders are summarized. In the first study (117 patients), which was confined to neurotic forms of depressive and/or anxious affective disorder, analysis of the findings derived from systematic clinical examination and eight rating scales, seven of them supposedly unidimensional measures of the severity of emotional disturbance, made it possible to achieve clear separation of the patient population into two groups both in the full sample and in two randomly derived subsamples. A number of rating scales have been shown to be effective tools for diagnostic discrimination within the affective disorders. The second enquiry (152 patients) covered the entire range of disorders of affect. Multivariate analyses of data derived from Present State Examination (P.S.E.) differentiated the patient population into three main groups: 1) endogenous depression; 2) neurotic depression; and 3) anxiety neuroses. There was 84% agreement between the classification of patients into the groups "anxiety state" and "depressive disorder" and separation of the 152 patients also was achieved with the aid of ratings on the Maudsley Personality Inventory and the Cattell 16 PF Battery.